Known in India as the "bitter gourd" or "bitter melon". This unusual looking vegetable is regarded highly as an aid to digestion and its ability to cure a wide range of common ailments. It looks like a very knobbly gherkin and has a taste and texture somewhere between a cooked courgette and a cucumber with crunchy edible seeds. A distinctive vegetable side dish .

Butter beans are among the farmer’s market treasures of late summer in Charleston—reason to wake up with gusto to another day of stultifying heat and oxford-soaking humidity. This simple treatment is one of the most satisfying. Butter beans come in many varieties, and sizes, but the small green ones are best for this recipe (though you may use frozen baby lima beans if butter beans aren’t in season).

A traditional food plant in Africa, this vegetable has potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare. Okra taste the best when stir fry.

Stuffed curried Patra leaves are a Gujurati speciality dish. The Patra leaves are stuffed with a spicy mixture of gram flour, tamarind and spices to make a rich and delicious vegetarian starter or snack - but you need to know how to serve this!

Commonly known as ‘Kala chana’ (Hindi) in India, chickpeas are a part of the vegetarian diet in India. These are basically legumes belonging to the Fabaceae family. The plants are short in height and are mostly found in tropical and subtropical regions. The seeds are excellent sources of protein. There are generally two varieties of chickpeas, ‘desi’ and ‘kabuli’. The ‘desi’ variety comprises of darker smaller seeds having a rough outer covering whereas the ‘kabuli’ variety are comparatively larger light colored beans with a smoother coat.